KARUIZAWA, Japan – Argentina, behind a 5-under-par 66 from Jaime Lopez Rivarola and a 4-under 67 from Alejandro Tosti, surged into the 36-hole lead on Thursday at the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship at Karuizawa 72 Golf East.
The Argentines, who began the day in fourth-position, posted a 9-under 133 at the Oshitate Course to move into a one-stroke lead over Sweden, Switzerland and the USA at 18-under-par 268, which ties for the second-lowest 36-hole total in championship history. First-round co-leader Canada lost four strokes in the last three holes to fall to fifth place at 270.
“We plan for the tournament, but you’ve also got to plan each round,” said Argentine captain Matias Anselmo. “What we try to do every day is stay under par. It doesn’t matter if it’s 1 or 2 or 5, we just want to make sure that we’re under par because we know that at this kind of golf course, the scores are going to be low. If you get some momentum, you’ve got to take advantage of it. They know that as soon as they get a chance, they’ve got to go for it. The teams chasing us are really good so we know we’ve got to keep it up.”
Rivarola, a sophomore at the University of Georgia, posted six birdies and a bogey, while Tosti, who will enroll at the University of Florida and played in the 2014 British Amateur and the St Andrews Trophy, logged an eagle and five birdies but also had a bogey and a double bogey. Matias Simaski shot a non-counting 71.
“We planned our round to try and come out strong from the start,” said Rivarola. “We knew the back nine at Oshitate was more accessible than the front and we did a really good job with some good birdies from 10 to 18.”
Canada, which shared the lead with Sweden and Switzerland after the first round, held the lead at 19-under par through 15 holes.
“Both days, we gave a few shots back on the way in,” said Canadian captain Graham Hill. “It’s something we will talk about tonight. There are lots of low scores and it’s a bunched-up leader board. While it’s not exactly what we wanted, 6 under is still a good score and we are still right there.”
The trio of teams in second place also played the par-71 Oshitate Course as Sweden and Switzerland both posted 7-under 135 and the USA, the defending champions, tallied 9-under 133 to match the low team score of the day with Argentina, Scotland and Spain.
The USA counted a 5-under 66 from Beau Hossler, the 2014 Western Amateur champion, and a 4-under 67 from Bryson DeChambeau. Denny McCarthy, a semifinalist in last month’s U.S. Amateur, shot a 68, which ties the record for lowest non-counting score.
“Anytime you can get all three rounds in the 60s is good,” said Hossler, a two-time U.S. Open qualifier and a sophomore at the University of Texas. “It’s nice to see that even the scores that aren’t counting are still low. I think that’s a positive moving forward and I’m happy with my own position being 9 under through two rounds.
“I feel like the best mindset for all of us to have is to try and go out and win the tournament individually. That should take care of the team thing if all three of us finish in the top three.”
Added USA captain Jim Hyler: “The guys played really well today. We’ve had six rounds all in the 60s. We left some shots out there, but still made lots of good shots and I’m really pleased with the way they hung in there today. We’re trending very well.”
Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult, No.4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™, shot a 5-under 66 and teammate Adam Blomme tallied a 69.
For Switzerland, Benjamin Rusch posted a 5-under 66 and Mathias Eggenberger added a 2-under 69.
Two players posted the low round of the championship so far. Spain’s John Rahm, No. 13 in the WAGR, shot a 7-under 64 at Oshitate and was joined by Australia’s Lucas Herbert, ranked No. 19, who shot 8-under 64 at Iriyama.
Spain is tied for sixth at 271 with Scotland and England. Australia and Denmark share ninth position at 273, followed by Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Italy and Mexico tied for 11th. The host team from Japan is in 21st place.
Thirty-five teams have posted under-par totals after 36 holes and 63 under-par scores counted in the second round, breaking the record of 45 in 2006.
Play was suspended at 12:08 p.m. due to weather and resumed at 1 p.m.
The World Amateur Team Championship is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 137 national governing bodies in 131 countries. The competition, which is being held for the 26th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa.
This year’s event is hosted by the Japan Golf Association. The teams play for the Eisenhower Trophy. The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and will conduct the Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.
The teams in the upper half of scoring will play the Oshitate Course in Friday’s third round and the Iriyama Course in the fourth round.
KARUIZAWA, Japan – Results of Thursday’s second round of the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship played at the par-71, 7,010-yard Oshitate Course (OC) and the par-72, 7,008-yard Course (IC) at Karuizawa 72 Golf East.
1. Argentina (ARG) - 135 IC-133 OC -- 268 (-18)
Jaime Lopez Rivarola 67-66—133
Alejandro Tosti 68-67—135
Matias Simaski 72-70--142
T2. Sweden (SWE) - 134 IC-135 OC -- 269 (-17)
Marcus Kinhult 65-66—131
Adam Blomme 72-69—141
Hannes Ronneblad 69-74--143
T2. Switzerland (SUI) - 134 IC-135 OC -- 269 (-17)
Benjamin Rusch 68-66—134
Mathias Eggenberger 66-69—135
Marco Iten 72-70--142
T2. United States of America (USA) - 136 IC-133 OC -- 269 (-17)
Beau Hossler 68-66—134
Denny McCarthy 68-68—136
Bryson DeChambeau 69-67--136
5 .Canada (CAN) - 134 IC-136 OC -- 270 (-16)
Taylor Pendrith 68-67—135
Corey Conners 66-69—135
Adam Svensson 69-69--138
T6. England (ENG) - 136 IC-135 OC -- 271 (-15)
Benjamin Stow 67-67—134
Ryan Evans 72-68—140
Ashley Chesters 69-72--141
T6. Scotland (SCO) - 138 IC-133 OC -- 271 (-15)
Grant Forrest 68-68—136
Bradley Neil 72-65—137
Chris Robb 70-74--144
T6. Spain (ESP) - 138 IC-133 OC -- 271 (-15)
Jon Rahm 70-64—134
Mario Galiano 68-69—137
Daniel Berna 75-69--144
T9. Australia (AUS) - 137 OC-136 IC -- 273 (-13)
Lucas Herbert 69-64—133
Ryan Ruffels 68-73—141
Geoff Drakeford 71-72--143
T9. Denmark (DEN) - 133 OC-140 IC -- 273 (-13)
Nicolai Kristensen 66-70—136
Martin Leth Simonsen 67-70—137
Niklas Noergaard Moeller 72-70--142
T11. Chinese Taipei (TPE) - 137 OC-137 IC -- 274 (-12)
Chun-An Yu 67-67—134
Cheng-Tsung Pan 70-70—140
Wei-Lun Wang 75-73--148
T11. France (FRA) - 140 IC-134 OC -- 274 (-12)
Victor Perez 69-65—134
Clement Sordet 71-69—140
Robin Sciot Siegrist 72-78--150
T11. Germany (GER) - 137 OC-137 IC -- 274 (-12)
Hurly Long 67-69—136
Maximilian Mehles 70-68—138
Maximilian Rottluff 71-71--142
T11. Italy (ITA) - 140 IC-134 OC -- 274 (-12)
Renato Paratore 69-67—136
Enrico Di Nitto 71-70—141
Guido Migliozzi 75-67--142
T11. Mexico (MEX) - 138 IC-136 OC -- 274 (-12)
Gerardo Ruiz De La Concha 68-67—135
Alvaro Ortiz Becerra 71-69—140
Aaron Terrazas Morales 70-71--141
T16. Austria (AUT) - 140 IC-135 OC -- 275 (-11)
Lukas Lipold 72-66—138
Robin Goger 69-69—138
Markus Maukner 71-72--143
T16. Chile (CHI) - 136 OC-139 IC -- 275 (-11)
Matias Dominguez 67-68—135
Guillermo Pereira 69-71—140
Martin Cancino 69-77--146
T18. Belgium (BEL) - 138 OC-138 IC -- 276 (-10)
Thomas Detry 68-70—138
Kevin Hesbois 70-68—138
Samuel Echikson 75-75--150
T18. Czech Republic (CZE) - 135 OC-141 IC -- 276 (-10)
Simon Zach 67-67—134
Vitek Novak 68-74—142
Michal Pospisil 76-78--154
T18. Ireland (IRL) - 138 IC-138 OC -- 276 (-10)
Gary Hurley 69-68—137
Gavin Moynihan 69-70—139
Paul Dunne 70-70--140
21. Japan (JPN) - 138 IC-140 OC -- 278 (-8)
Kazuya Koura 69-71—140
Takashi Ogiso 71-69—140
Kenta Konishi 69-74--143
22. Puerto Rico (PUR) - 137 IC-142 OC -- 279 (-7)
Jeronimo Esteve 67-73—140
Robi Calvesbert 72-69—141
Edward Figueroa 70-74--144
T23. Norway (NOR) - 141 IC-139 OC -- 280 (-6)
Kristian Johannessen 71-68—139
Kristoffer Ventura 70-71—141
Andreas Halvorsen 74-78--152
T23. People's Republic of China (CHN) - 142 IC-138 OC -- 280 (-6)
Zecheng Dou 68-72—140
Jin Zhang 74-69—143
Zhengkai Bai 75-69--144
T23. Republic of Korea (KOR) - 142 OC-138 IC -- 280 (-6)
Eun-Ho Youm 71-67—138
Nam-Hun Kim 71-71—142
Tae-Hyun Kong 73-74--147
T23. Singapore (SIN) - 142 IC-138 OC -- 280 (-6)
Jonathan Woo 70-67—137
Johnson Poh 72-73—145
Marc Ong 81-71--152
T23. Venezuela (VEN) - 139 IC-141 OC -- 280 (-6)
Jorge Garcia 66-68—134
Alejandro Perazzo 73-73—146
Gustavo Morantes 78-75--153
T28. New Zealand (NZL) - 144 IC-137 OC -- 281 (-5)
Joshua Munn 72-69—141
Tae Koh 72-69—141
Vaughan McCall 74-68--142
T28. Slovenia (SLO) - 140 OC-141 IC -- 281 (-5)
Tim Gornik 67-73—140
Zan Luka Stirn 73-68—141
Enej Sarkanj 74-75--149
30. Colombia (COL) - 141 OC-141 IC -- 282 (-4)
Nicolas Echavarria 70-69—139
Santiago Gomez 71-72—143
Ricardo Celia 71-77--148
T31. India (IND) - 141 IC-142 OC -- 283 (-3)
Udayan Mane 68-70—138
Feroz Garewal 73-72—145
Manu Gandas 76-76--152
T31. Wales (WAL) - 138 OC-145 IC -- 283 (-3)
Michael Hearne 68-72—140
David Boote 70-73—143
Rhys Pugh 70-73--143
33. Bermuda (BER) - 142 IC-142 OC -- 284 (-2)
Jarryd Dillas 71-70—141
Will Haddrell 73-72—145
Mark Phillips 71-80--151
T34. Portugal (POR) - 143 IC-142 OC -- 285 (-1)
Joao Carlota 69-69—138
Goncalo Costa 74-73—147
Tomas Silva 80-76--156
T34. Thailand (THA) - 140 OC-145 IC -- 285 (-1)
Suradit Yongcharoenchai 68-71—139
Nattawat Suvajanakorn 72-75—147
Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol 74-74--148
T36. Costa Rica (CRC) - 146 IC-140 OC -- 286 (Even)
Jose Mendez 71-70—141
Alvaro Ortiz 75-70—145
Manuel Jimenez 84-84--168
T36. Hong Kong, China (HKG) - 141 OC-145 IC -- 286 (Even)
Matthew Cheung 70-74—144
Shinichi Mizuno 73-71—144
Martin Liu 71-82--153
T36. Malaysia (MAS) - 143 IC-143 OC -- 286 (Even)
Kyle Green Gavin 68-72—140
Low Khai Jei 75-71—146
Abdul Manaf Muhammad Wafiyuddin 75-76--151
T36. Poland (POL) - 142 IC-144 OC -- 286 (Even)
Mateusz Gradecki 70-71—141
Adrian Meronk 72-73—145
Jan Szmidt 79-73--152
T36. South Africa (RSA) - 144 IC-142 OC -- 286 (Even)
Zander Lombard 68-71—139
Jason Smith 78-71—149
Gerlou Roux 76-73--149
T41. Brazil (BRA) - 140 OC-147 IC -- 287 (+1)
Andre Tourinho 68-75—143
Thomaz Pimenta 72-72—144
Herik Machado 74-82--156
T41. Finland (FIN) - 144 IC-143 OC -- 287 (+1)
Linus Vaisanen 72-70—142
Kristian Kulokorpi 72-73—145
Albert Eckhardt 73-73--146
T41. Guatemala (GUA) - 148 IC-139 OC -- 287 (+1)
Jose Pablo Rolz 74-69—143
Sebastian Barnoya 74-70—144
Daniel Gurtner 79-71--150
44. Slovakia (SVK) - 144 IC-144 OC -- 288 (+2)
Jan Friesz 72-72—144
Peter Valasek 75-72—147
Oliver Gabor 72-78--150
45. Netherlands (NED) - 142 OC-147 IC -- 289 (+3)
Michael Kraaij 71-73—144
Lars Van Meijel 72-74—146
Robbie Van West 71-76--147
46. Guam (GUM) - 144 OC-146 IC -- 290 (+4)
Devin Hua 72-68—140
Louie Sunga 72-78—150
Daryl Poe 76-83--159
T47. Malta (MLT) - 146 OC-150 IC -- 296 (+10)
Andrew Borg 72-76—148
John Verlest Micallef 74-76—150
Daniel Holland 77-74--151
T47. Turkey (TUR) - 152 IC-144 OC -- 296 (+10)
Serkan Akarsu 77-71—148
Ediz Kemaloglu 76-73—149
Ali Altuntas 76-77--153
49. Philippines (PHI) - 148 OC-149 IC -- 297 (+11)
Rupert Zaragosa 74-74—148
Kristoffer Arevalo 75-75—150
Raymart Tolentino 74-80--154
T50. Fiji (FIJ) - 143 OC-155 IC -- 298 (+12)
Sam Lee 71-77—148
Olaf Frank Grant Allen 72-78—150
Abid Hussain 81-80--161
T50. Russian Federation (RUS) - 144 OC-154 IC -- 298 (+12)
Mikhail Morozov 70-78—148
Nikita Ponomarev 74-77—151
Pavel Goryainov 77-77--154
52. Dominican Republic (DOM) - 152 IC-147 OC -- 299 (+13)
Francisco Pichardo 81-71—152
Juan Jose Guerra 77-76—153
Ernesto Vitienes 75-79--154
53. Uruguay (URU) - 150 OC-151 IC -- 301 (+15)
Juan Alvarez 71-74—145
Facundo Alvarez 79-77—156
Agustin Acosta 81-81--162
T54. Estonia (EST) - 156 IC-146 OC -- 302 (+16)
Marten Palm 80-71—151
Martin Jarve 76-78—154
Sander Aadusaar 81-75--156
T54. Serbia (SRB) - 154 IC-148 OC -- 302 (+16)
Cedomir Ilic 77-70—147
Ilija Djurdjevic 77-79—156
Ranko Helc 81-78--159
T56. Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) - 144 OC-161 IC -- 305 (+19)
Hassan Karimian Noshahr 70-83—153
Behrod Keshtavar 74-81—155
Ali Khazanbeik 78-80--158
T56. Jamaica (JAM) - 149 OC-156 IC -- 305 (+19)
Sean Morris 72-79—151
Jonathan Newnham 77-77—154
Keith Stein 77-85--162
58. Greece (GRE) - 149 OC-159 IC -- 308 (+22)
Vasileios Koumpakis 70-76—146
Stamatios Kavadas 79-83—162
Nikolaos Efthymiadis 79-86--165
59. Bahrain (BRN) - 154 OC-156 IC -- 310 (+24)
Hamad Mubarak 76-76—152
Abdulla Sultan 78-80—158
Nasser Yacoob 79-81--160
60. United Arab Emirates (UAE) - 156 IC-157 OC -- 313 (+27)
Khalid Al Jasmi 74-77—151
Rashid Hamood 82-80—162
Sohail Al Marzouqi 82-82--164
T61. Mauritius (MRI) - 155 OC-159 IC -- 314 (+28)
Ian Espitalier Noel 77-77—154
Ludovic Bax 78-82—160
Brent Sussens 87-85--172
T61. Qatar (QAT) - 153 IC-161 OC -- 314 (+28)
Ali Al Shahrani 77-79—156
Saleh Al Kaabi 76-82—158
Abdul Rahman Al Shahrani 90-82--172
63. Ghana (GHA) - 164 OC-162 IC -- 326 (+40)
Maxwell Owusu-Bonsu 81-78—159
Peter Amenyo 83-84—167
64. El Salvador (ESA) - 179 OC-169 IC -- 348 (+62)
Gerardo Alvarez 90-84—174
Sebastian Bettaglio 89-85—174
Ricardo Reyes 100-97--197
T64. Ukraine (UKR) - 170 OC-178 IC -- 348 (+62)
Artur Badiuk 82-89—171
Emir Priadko 89-89—178
Fedir Karhapolov 88-92--180
66. Gabon (GAB) - 174 OC-176 IC -- 350 (+64)
Kevin Aboumi Mouba 88-85—173
Leon-Paul Lobo 88-91—179
Thomas Mba Agostino 86-99--185
67. Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) - 189 OC-186 IC -- 375 (+89)
Andrey Sazanov 97-90—187
Sergey Kim 92-100—192
Konstantin Surikov 97-96--193